Monthly Archives: May, 2025

May 14, 2025: Pianist Sara Davis Buechner, Syracuse Orch.

Published - May 14, 2025

  It was a joy to catch up with pianist Sara Davis Buechner in anticipation of this weekend’s concert with the Syracuse Orchestra.  Sara is playing the devilish(!) Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1, and talked about the journey we take with this piece.  She also gave us some news on performances she has coming up this summer, and how excited she was to hear this performance of Mahler’s Symphony No.1 on this farewell concert for Maestro Lawrence Loh.     Information about the Syracuse Orchestra is available here. And learn about Sara Davis Buechner at her website.

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May 12, 2025: Attacca Quartet and Linda Chesis, CSMF

Published - May 12, 2025

  The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival is just around the corner – and once again Founder and Music Director Linda Chesis has an early concert to enjoy as the festival welcomes Attacca Quartet.  We had a chance to talk to Linda and the violist from Attacca, Nathan Schram about the concert, the variety of music they play, and the excitement of winning not one, but two GRAMMY awards.     More about the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival is available here. And the Attacca Quartet website can be viewed here.

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The Joy of Why: Will AI Ever Understand Language Like Humans?

Published - May 12, 2025

Quanta Magazine’s The Joy of Why is a special addition to WCNY Community FM. It’s hosted by Cornell mathematician Steven Strogatz and senior produced by Genevieve Sponsler (also a producer here at WCNY Community FM). Steve and the show’s co-host — cosmologist and author Janna Levin — take turns interviewing leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time. On this episode: Large language models (LLMs) are becoming increasingly more impressive at creating human-like text and answering questions, but whether they can understand the meaning of the words they generate is a hotly debated issue. A big

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Check It Out: A Parade, Summer Reading and More!

Published - May 10, 2025

On this weeks addition of Check It Out, Tom and Maggie talk over a whole host of fun events going on across the Library landscape. From the Light A Candle for Literacy book festival, which has been moved up to June 7th, to their Mets tabling nights, and they take a look at some stuff that’s going to be happening for summer reading. This year‘s theme for summer reading is “Color Our World”!

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WoodSongs Kids Episode 13: Phoebe White & Madeline Caudi

Published - May 10, 2025

New to WCNY’s kids’ hour on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. is WoodSongs Kids. The series features young musicians and performers. It’s recorded in front of a theatre audience at the historic Lyric Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky. Featured in this episode: Phoebe White is a 13-year-old guitarist and yodeler from London, Kentucky. And, Madeline Caudil is a 10-year-old finger-picking guitarist and singer from central Kentucky.

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“The D.O.T. P.O.D.”: The I-81Connect App & Project Update

Published - May 10, 2025

DOT’s projects and initiatives are deeply rooted in our communities. But to truly meet the needs of the people we serve, we’ve got to meet them where they are. On this episode, Project Director for the I-81 Viaduct Project Betsy Parmley, and Community Liaison and Public Information Officer TeNesha Murphy join us to talk about DOT’s groundbreaking I-81 Connect, our first ever app linked to our largest ever project, as well as give an update on this transformative project. The D.O.T. P.O.D. shares stories from the agency that keeps you moving, the New York State Department of Transportation.

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S09 Ep36: Looking North, Part 5

Published - May 10, 2025

“Colour is profoundly important to me as a composer, the actual colour of the sound..” – Anne Boyd   We continue our global trek with music from the south, specifically from New Zealand and Australia.  We’ll hear influences of traditional classical works as well as indigenous music. Looking South, Part 5 Marlene Cummins:  Starting Over Ensemble Offspring “Women of Note, Volume 5” ABC Classics 0055 Margaret Sutherland:  Concerto for String Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra; Patrick Thomas, conductor “Australian Composers Volume 1: Miriam Hyde & Margaret Sutherland” ABC Classics 4462852 Anne Boyd:  Cloudy Mountain Animo “Animo Two” Ravello Records 8079 Elizabeth Younan: 

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It’s Happening Here Ep. 4 Sean Kirst

Published - May 8, 2025

Columnist Sean Kirst has returned to writing in Syracuse after nearly a decade away. Now the newest member of the Central Current newsroom, the veteran journalist joins hosts Maximilian Eyle and Dr. Rick Wright to discuss the importance of focus and storytelling in how we understand the community we live in. They revisit the tragedy of Pan Am flight 103 which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1983 and the impact of the coverage that followed. It was carrying 259 passengers – 35 of whom were Syracuse University students. Kirst also explores the importance of creating accessible sources of information, and

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Repeating History, Episode 10 – Dr. Adam Laats, Professor of History at Binghamton University

Published - May 7, 2025

On the latest episode of Repeating History, our guest is Dr. Adam Laats. Dr. Laats is the author of Mr. Lancaster’s System: The Failed Reform that Created America’s Public Schools , published in 2024. Professor Laats and Bob discuss the origins of the American public education system in response to the unsuccessful Lancastrian movement Dewitt Clinton imported to New York from Great Britain in the 1820s.  From there, the conversation moves on to the evolution of the public school system, education reform, charter schools, and the relationship between public schools and private schools, which has been at the center of many legal and

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Talk CNY – Celebrating and Supporting Small Businesses

Published - May 7, 2025

It’s National Small Business Week! More than 45% of U.S. employees work at small businesses according to the Small Business Administration, making them a vital part of our national and local economy. With as important as they are, it’s imperative to recognize their impact and support their growth. CenterState CEO offers an array of supports and services to try and help small business owners realize their goals and prosper in the community. This includes everything from community investment work through CenterState Up Start to operating the world’s largest accelerator for uncrewed systems with GENIUS NY. On this episode of Talk

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CNY Latino Podcast, Episode 72 – Latinos in Law

Published - May 5, 2025

(#72, 5/5/25) In this episode of CNY Latino Podcast, we will have two interviews, one with interview with Maximilian Eyle about the event of the Hiscock Legal Aid Society an evening of celebration and community engagement in the famous Salt City Market in downtown Syracuse, and also to talk about him as a local Latino leader. the second interview with both Juan Proaño and Dr. Ray Serrano from LULAC, to talk about How Latinos can save big on health insurance in 2025, and/or any other Health related and Cultural-based topic, and also the many issues going on with the new

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Innovate to Educate, Episode 32 – The Communication Arts CTE Pathway at Liverpool High School

Published - May 5, 2025

On this edition of Innovate to Educate, host Jody Manning is joined by two educators, Tim Nicholas and Owen Valentine and two of their students from the Communication Arts CTE Program at Liverpool High School, Alannah Edwards, and Selah Poulsen. The Communication Arts CTE Pathway at Liverpool High School immerses students in the dynamic world of media, offering hands-on experience with professional film and sound equipment as well as industry-standard software.    

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Zestful Aging – What Makes a Good Death?

Published - May 4, 2025

Suzanne B. O’Brien was named the Humanitarian Ambassador for Oprah Magazine for her work to bring peace and comfort to those facing the end of life around the world. Her life’s mission is to increase access to high quality end of life education and care for patients and families. She has firsthand experience as a hospice and oncology nurse and palliative care professional at the bedsides of more than 1,000 end of life patients. Today we’re going to talk about what makes a good death. Find out more at Suzanne B. O’Brien and her new book: https://thegooddeathbook.com/

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Plant People: The Periodic Table of Food

Published - May 3, 2025

New to WCNY is Plant People from the New York Botanical Garden. NYBG’s CEO & President, Jennifer Bernstein, connects the dots between nature and humanity through lively conversations with plant scientists and curators, gardeners and naturalists, and other experts. In the second episode of season two, Dr. Alex McAlvay, Assistant Curator at NYBG’s Center for Plants, People, and Culture, and Dr. John de la Parra, Director of the Global Food Portfolio at the Rockefeller Foundation, speak with Jennifer about the problems in modern agriculture (like monocrops) that are threatening our food security worldwide. Together, they’ll share some of the ways

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S09 Ep36: Looking North, Part 5

Published - May 3, 2025

“Tonal colour is important for me, but I don’t consider myself a spectral composer; my aim is to create dynamic forms. Translucency is also important, music must have air in it.” – Lotta Wennäkoski   We’re kicking off a trek around the globe, listening to women’s music from all points of the compass.  This week, we look to the North – Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Canada. Looking North, Part 5 Ruth Bakke:  Ragadòn Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag “Frisk Pust: NY Norsk Musikk for Korps” Norsk Noteservice 34988 Lotta Wennäkoski:  Flounce Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Nicholas Collon, conductor Lotta Wennäkoski: Sigla; Flounce; Sedecim”

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